Steam leak at East Campus

By Joanna E. Stone

Residents of the east parallel of East Campus were evacuated on
Wednesday afternoon when a leak in a basement steam pipe sent a cloud of
steam ascending through the staircase and garbage chute of the dorm,
setting off several fire alarms and sprinkler systems in the process.

According to John C. Narcotta, a pipe shop supervisor for MIT Physical
Plant, the leak occurred during a routine maintenance procedure in which a
switch is made from one steam pipe line to another.

A gasket, compressed between the mechanical flange -- the mechanical
joint of the steam pipe -- let go, Narcotta said.

"The steam leaked into the room, raised the temperature of the basement
to about 165@# [F] and from there the fire protection system took over,"
he said.

Ryan A. Smith '92, who lives on the fifth floor of the parallel, was
walking up the stairs at the time the gasket broke. "When I first saw the
steam and heard the alarm, I thought there was a fire," he said.

When Smith reached the fifth floor, he saw the garbage chute open and
watched as steam began to pour from it. "I went to shut the door but the
steam fogged up my glasses," he said.

Smith eventually managed to lock the door to the garbage chute, shut the
closet door, and open the window at the end of the hall.

One fifth floor resident expressed her appreciation to Smith. "He
probably saved the floor from more excessive water damage," she said.

Floors below were not as fortunate. Residents returned to find hall
carpeting soaked and some found puddles in front of their doors.

"I don't think there was a lot of damage [from the incident], but the
moisture could create mold and mildew," Narcotta said.

Narcotta believes that this was an isolated incident and that there is
little chance of such a leak occurring again. However, he said that
Physical Plant plans to make a close inspection to look for any similar
weaknesses in other steam lines on campus.

Residents of the building were forced to stand outside for nearly an hour
waiting for the coast to clear while fire fighters and Physical Plant
workers inspected the basement, opened all the staircase windows and let
out all the steam.

Students living in the west parallel, who were not affected by the leak,
provided background music for their displaced fellow residents, piping The
Doors' "Light My Fire" onto the scene.